


Moonlight

by DforDeejay



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2020-10-21 06:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20688803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DforDeejay/pseuds/DforDeejay
Summary: Set 2 years after the events of 'Cleaved', Marco experiences strange events; all seem to hint that magic may not be destroyed after all. Elsewhere, Mina is still out and still seeking vengeance.-Knowledge of the show is required, but can still be enjoyed without prior knowledge anyway.-





	1. Introduction

Upon spending more time to write this book, I realise there are some characters and plotlines from the TV show you would not know or care about without the proper introduction. So to have people who have not seen the TV show an equal chance to enjoy the book, I have decided to add something to highlight some important bits from the show which are going to play here.

‘Moonlight’ is based on the Disney TV show ‘Star vs The Forces of Evil’ which aired from March 2015 to May 2019. The basic premise of the show is of a teenage princess finding her place as queen of her fantasy kingdom Mewni with her best-friend from Earth. The core characters of the show, and my story, are:

  * Star Butterfly, the magical Mewman princess who could do magic;
  * Marco Diaz, her human best friend who is her boyfriend by the end of the show;
  * Tom Lucitor, Star’s half-demon half-Mewman ex-boyfriend and Marco’s current best friend;
  * Mina Loveberry, the antagonist of the last season with an unwavering loyalty to the past when Mewmans and monsters wouldn’t get along; and
  * The Glogbor family of three with: 
    * Eclipsa Butterfly, Star’s relative;
    * Globgor, a full-on monster and Eclipsa’s husband; and
    * Meteora, the child of the two.

The story takes place 2 years after the series finale ‘Cleaved’, wherein Star and Marco destroy the presence of all magic in the universe, ridding her and her family of magical powers and in the process cleaving Earth and Mewni into one combined world.

There will definitely be some references to the original TV show which an average reader may not get. For that, I apologise, but it won’t really matter much to the overall story and narrative. I try my best to make my fanfictions a blend of original storytelling and with knowledge that my readers are familiar with the source material (one of the best things about AO3 actually), and even if they are not, they can still understand and appreciate the story for what it is.

If you are not familiar, I thank you for actually reading this, and hope this introductory chapter helps you understand. With that, enjoy the story!

-DJ


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned.
> 
> Hey guys, sorry for being so missing, I've been focussing on original poem collections for a year or so. But I just finished binging Star vs The Forces and I started writing this fanfic.

_“With or without magic…” she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his vermillion hoodie as tightly as she can and squeezing her eyes shut._

_“…we belong together,” he replied hopefully, tears pooling in his eyes as he hugged her back. With one final look around at the collapsing world around them, he shut his eyes._

_Everything around them started crumbling. He could feel bits of rock and rubble wash away along the water scraping his knees. But he didn’t care. Neither of them did. They have each other, and that’s all that matters._

_That’s when he started drowning._

_All of a sudden, his whole body felt heavy and immobile, like he’s trapped in amber. His vision turned more and more foggy. He couldn’t feel her arms around him._

_“Star? Star! STAR!” He tried to scream but his voice sounded muffled, to the point that even he couldn’t hear himself. Breathing heavily, he darted his eyes around, but they were met with utter murky blackness all around. Panic rose, clenching his throat even more. His breathing turning more ragged by the second, he could feel something pulling him down. Lower and lower. Deeper and deeper._

_Then, two glowing spotlights blared on and focussed their harsh beams on him. His ears started ringing, first faint then deafening. And the last thing he heard was a booming voice._

_ “Wake up.”_

Marco’s eyes snapped open and he fell to his bed with a thump. The impact shook him out of any daze he might have. Blearily he rubbed his cheeks, burning to the touch. Jerking his hands away, he sat up on his bed and frowned, looking up. He had lost count of how many times he’s been waking up like that. Slowly putting his feet down on the cold wooden floor, he kept staring at the top of his room. How high had he gone this time? Was it the same as last night? Maybe higher? He doesn’t know. Sighing, he looked back down – to meet a pair of big bright blue eyes.

“Whooaa!” He stumbled back onto his bed in shock, emitting giggles from his girlfriend.

“I got you good! Oh, the look on your face. Hahaha!”

Marco punched her arm lightly and let himself be pulled out. “Morning, Star.”

Star flashed a bright smile, which faded when she saw Marco wasn’t reciprocating it like he usually does. “Hey, is something wrong? Wh-why were you so lost staring at the ceiling?” She looked up to where he was looking with exaggerated facial contortions. They incited Marco to chuckle.

“It’s nothing, Star,” he assured her with a hand on her shoulder. Star’s expression softened as she pulled away. “I made breakfast! Something new, come on down or I’m gonna finish it!” She kissed his cheek and ran out of his room, leaving Marco all alone. He started to follow her out, but stopped to look back at his bed, mentally gauging how high he went this morning. He looked down at his hands, both looking slightly paler than normal. In addition to that, his cheeks also felt a little warmer. No, no. Not now, not now! He clenched his fists and took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself down, listening only to the whooshing of the fan blades. Soon, the pallor and warmth subsided. He sighed in relief.

After brushing his teeth and getting dressed, he walked down to the dining area; a large, open banquet table in the middle of the room. He has seen it fit more than 50 guests once. Was it the Monster Ball? Yeah, it was. At the head of the table, Queen Eclipsa sat, poised and dainty as a queen could be. Her attire was more casual than with her people, with an oversized t-shirt and leggings. On her right, a monster baby was sitting on a highchair, banging at the table with her fists, being fed some stew by the queen. Right next to the baby was Globgor, a tall burly monster, red skin and with marks of a tiger. If he squinted, Marco could just make out the healed wound where Mina stabbed him a couple of years ago. To her left was Star, impatiently waiting for her food and beckoning to Marco to sit. As he sat next to Globgor, everyone else started digging in. Marco took bites out of the special pancake dish Star made for everyone. He personally liked it, but as he looked at the faces of the king and queen, he realised they don’t share his taste.

“Sooooo, how is it?” Star looked expectantly at the rest. Marco nodded; his mouth full. Everyone else nodded in unison, their eyes watering.

“P-pretty good, Star dear. Only just, umm…” Globgor trailed off. “Maybe try cooking the batter a bit longer,” Eclipsa finished. That didn’t phase Star at all, who nodded in earnest so much her head almost looked like it was going to pop off. Meteora just kept babbling away, unaware of what was going on. After some actual breakfast, the servants came in to clear for the day. Star grabbed Marco’s hand and started to walk out but he stopped her.

“Hey, how about you go ahead first? I need to talk with Globgor for a bit. See you at the devil dogs place?” Star winked and nodded.

“Same thing for you?”

“Yes, of course.” Star leaned in to kiss him, then stopped.

“Did… you brush your teeth already?”

“I don’t know, did I?” Marco smirked. Star rolled her eyes and pecked him on the lips anyway_, _to the excited cheering of Meteora and giggling of Eclipsa and _she _ran off. Marco waited till she was out of earshot and wheeled himself around to face the king and queen, his face grim as death. They exchanged a somber look with each other, then at him. Globgor was the first one to break the silence.

“So, Diaz, how bad is it this time?”

Marco had no words to say, but his look told them everything they needed to know.


	3. Chapter 3

“How high was the…?” Globgor pointed upward and whistled softly. “Pretty high today, higher than before,” Marco replied, his fear slowly growing. “And the…” Eclipsa put her hands on her cheeks. “Yeah it’s still doing that.”

Eclipsa pursed her lips, as her husband put his hand on her arm. Her eyes conveyed the message that none of them wanted to say. _I don’t know what’s going on._

“Marco, let me see your hands,” Eclipsa beckoned him to extend his hand out, and he hesitantly did. She took it and firmly grasped the wrist. Like a button, it lit up. Marco’s cheeks became hotter. Globgor exchanged a nervous glance with Marco, then his wife, who was grabbing it tighter. Marco drew a sharp intake of breath as he could feel something grow from his hand. Globgor dragged Meteora’s highchair a couple of inches away as Eclipsa pointed his hand up to the skylight.

“D-darling? What are you-“

“I got this handled. Just trust me,” Eclipsa’s voice sounded so convicted as Marco’s hand grew brighter and brighter, his shouts of fear growing louder and more pronounced. Meteora and her father stared in awe and wariness, silent as a statue. As the glow became more glaring, Marco and Eclipsa both averted their eyes as-

** _FWOOOOOSH!_ **

A bright white burst of energy burst out of his hand into the morning sky, punctuated by the squawking of birds. The slack-jawed Globgor had nothing to say as he just stared at his wife. Eclipsa had a more pensive look, but her excitement was also there albeit controlled. Marco was… unconscious. That blast sapped his strength and as the light left his hand, his consciousness left with it.

“Ohhh my head…” Marco came to in his bed surrounded by the royal couple and a very worried Star, his favourite devil dogs in her hand. Upon seeing him awake, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. “Hey, kid.” Marco didn’t say anything back but pulled his hand out from under the covers, studying it. It didn’t show any signs of having magic, but neither of them could deny what they saw. He couldn’t deny what he felt. He kept pondering about it as he extended his hand to Star, who promptly gave him his snack. Marco simply smiled tiredly as he took a bite out of it.

“Star, dear,” Eclipsa whispered. “He needs his rest, why don’t you-“ she was cut off as Star firmly plunked down on the bed with him. “I can take care of him. You guys can leave.” Eclipsa and Globgor simply nodded in mild amusement as they retired to their rooms. Before they closed the door behind him, they turned back to see Marco slowly rising to sit up as Star curled up next to him under the covers, holding a hand over his forehead.

“Remember when _we_ were this cute?” Eclipsa teased her husband. Globgor shot her a sly look. “Before or after I got frozen?” That remark earned him a light slap on the arm and a peck on the cheek as he closed the door to Marco’s room.

The forest overlooking Echo Creek was teeming with wildlife. Flora and fauna of all sorts has boomed ever since the cleaving, but there was what you would normally expect from an Earth-Mewni blend forest – raccoons with tails that work like helicopter propellers, wolves with laser eyes, the usual. A regular deer bounded across the foliage, its coat and mane looked like sunrays against the morning sun. As it stopped and bent to eat some grass, its ears picked up on the faint a twig snapping. In the second it took to react, an arrow whizzed towards it, impaling its head. A clean kill; a quick end.

As the deer fell to the grass, a Mewman descended to the ground from a nearby tree and approached the animal. As expected, it was not breathing. As the hunter leaned forward to pull out the arrow, she felt a cold gust of wind whip her hair around. An impact wave from something. The hunter put a hand on her knife and looked up at the town. A suspicious orb of light emerged from the castle roof and shot upwards into the stratosphere. Instantly, the hunter’s brows furrowed in disbelief. It took her a second to realise what she just saw.

Instantly the hunter took to her heels and bolted, running and running, tripping over fallen branches and batting away birds. her hand tightened around their blade hilt as they vaulted into a ruined temple. She ran past the scarce blotches of fresh paint covering the moss and corrosion. Stumbling to a stop in the main room, she approached a burlier Mewman.

“Speak, Maisha.”

Maisha took a second to catch her breath, and took a deep breath. “Mina, there- there was… magic…”

Mina Loveberry turned around to face Maisha in amused disbelief, expecting a smile. Her expression darkened when Maisha didn’t smile back at her. “Magic, you say? From where?”

“The castle. It came from the castle roof.”

Maisha could feel Mina’s arms quivering, hear her teeth gnashing, see her eyes flaring up. Then Mina took a deep breath and waved a hand towards her soldier, sending her off. Maisha was confused, but listened to her anyway. As she left, Mina stared out her window into the clearing, her face contorting into a deranged smile. “You’re mine, witch…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUCK. It took me 5 months to come up with something?! I am soo sorry dear reader, I just wasn't feeling inspired. I had this chapter alone in the works for more than 6 months (because I have a thing where I don't release the previous chapter until there is some work done on the next) because of what it was for me at the point of the story. Yes, the story would be more plot and character based from this point on, but I struggled with trying to find the best way to write what I had, to the point of me having a lack of idea for... 5 months. Again, sorry. Till one day I looked back at my manuscript literally 24h before putting it out there and decided "fuck it, let's try writing something". And FINALLY, after so long, inspiration struck and I kept writing the chapter to completion. Let's hope the wait won't be long for the next chapter, given that there is some momentum hitting for me.
> 
> I missed writing, so so so much and I really love coming back to it. Enjoy the chapter, this one gets tense and exciting.

Marco gazed at his hands in dreadful confusion. He kept remembering the power flowing through them, through _him_. He wondered whether he could ever eat properly, ever write without his pen disintegrating in his fingers, ever –

The door was kicked open rather forcefully as Star bounded in with a bowl of soup. “Marco! I got you some corn soup!” She stopped in her tracks and smiled sheepishly as he was visibly shaken, but didn’t really care about her. _What’s he so spooked by?_ She set the bowl by his bed and propped herself up on the bed staring intently into his eyes. Marco just put a hand on her cheek and gently nudged her away, giving her the green light to cuddle up closer to him. The boy had an entire laser tag match in his head going on, an anisotropy of combating colours, noises and voices.

_Tell her, she’s your girlfriend._

_No, what if (Marco?) she freaks out?_

_No, she’s here to help. She clearly cares (Uhhh, Marco?) about you. She knows magic more than you. What if-_

_No, she doesn’t (Marcoooooo?????) have to know. Nobody has to know._

** _Nobody has to know._ **

“Marco!” Star shook him out of his trance and he froze. He stared at Star for a moment, then burst into tears as he collapsed back onto his pillow, as Star looked back at him, bewildered. She experimentally pulled him closer. His head snapped from his pillow to Star’s purple dress as he kept crying.

“Oh, Marco…” she slowly ran her hand through his soft hair. Ever since the Cleaving brought them together, she’s been trying to keep him happy and safe, and she felt happy and safe around her safe kid too. She wondered what was going through his head as after a while of sobbing, Marco sat up and wiped his puffy eyes.

“T-thanks,” he sniffled. As Star opened her mouth to ask him why he was crying, Marco took the bowl of soup and started shovelling it into his mouth. After a couple good hearty sips, he seemed to have calmed down. He was still thinking of whether he should tell her. It felt like one of those things which you felt like you had to, like coming to terms with your sexual orientation, or admitting Ponyhead is an annoying brat at times. But Star was staring at him, her face scrunched into a moment of adorable bewilderment, and wide-eyed concern and her hand holding his tightly. Her thumb was gently rubbing the back of his hand – a soft gesture which enabled him to calm down.

He could trust her, he decided. It was clear she was there for him, and she loved him with all her heart. He loved her a lot too.

But where does he start? Marco took a deep breath.

“See, Star,” he began. “I, uh…”

_Wham!_ The door burst open, startling the two who whip their heads to see Eclipsa and Globgor. The latter had his arms protectively around the baby, who was in the middle of a wailing fit. Eclipsa held the door shut as her husband put the baby on Marco’s bed. Star and Marco looked on in confusion, but their faces didn’t convey any humour, like that one time Marco’s laser-blasting puppies accidentally wandered into the castle. Their faces pallor, hands shaking, Globgor hyperventilating and Meteora staring at her parents and the couple. It didn’t take long for Star to reflect their fear, and as she opened her mouth to ask what happened, she heard a loud bellowing, familiar voice right outside the door.

“WITCHHHHH!!!”

Star and Marco’s eyes widened as Eclipsa yelled, “Everybody get down!” Instantly Marco snatched Meteora and rolled underneath the bed, with Star following behind. Eclipsa and Globgor stood stone still, back against the bed and facing the bedroom door as it exploded, splinters of wood and metal flung towards different corners of the room. The smoke cleared as Mina stood in the doorway, dishevelled and with a murderous rage in her eyes. Behind her was one of her minions, holding a crossbow and looking at her leader in expectation. A smile crawled on Mina’s lips; devilish, creepy and unhinged. “Hello, monster-smoocher.”

Eclipsa straightened up and stared straight into Mina’s eyes, but with the way she was holding his hand, Globgor could sense the palpable fear his wife was hiding. “What do you want, Loveberry?”

“A little bird told me…” Mina began, pausing as her minion stepped forward, crossbow raised and pointed at Globgor. “…that you had possession of magic in your castle,” she growled as she sneered at Globgor. “Is it you or your pet husband? Or is it the spawn? Huh?” She stepped closer to the two as they backed up toward the bed.

Underneath, Star had her hand muffling the baby’s mouth, but thankfully Eclipsa understood the dread that the two were facing. She exchanged a look with Marco, mouthing _“Magic?”_ Marco tensed up as he realised why they were being attacked.

She was here for **him**. His heartbeats were so audible they drowned out the tapping of Mina’s foot outside.

Mina waited patiently for an answer, and after some tense silence, she grew tired. She snapped a finger and another minion entered the room, this time carrying a limp, semi-conscious body of a teenage boy. He sported a blue _Panic! at the Disco_ tee with jeans. Eclipsa gasped as she noticed the boy’s face which was bruised and with a black eye. Upon closer inspection, she counted 3 eyes.

“I’m sorry, Eclipsa…” the boy groaned as his arm was outstretched to Mina. Star and Marco stifled a gasp as they recognised the boy she brought in with them. Mina wrapped her fingers around Tom’s forearm.

“There are 6 bones in this monster’s arm. How many should I break for one of you to spit it out?” She tightened her grip around the arm as Tom yelped in pain.

“WAIT!”

Under the bed, Star and Marco gripped each others’ hands so tightly they became white. Marco looked over at Star, who was almost on the verge of tears. Marco shared that same sentiment as he closed his eyes.

_And just like that, he was drowning again._

_He was back in the smoky amber, from his dream. He looked around. Star wasn’t there holding his hand. He still couldn’t scream, but in his eyeline the faint glow was back again. It grew closer, and brighter. Bigger and bigger. Panic and fear overtook Marco as he tried to kick and struggle away. The more he struggled, the more the light grew. His throat tightened, his muscles contracted, every bone in his body was vibrating strangely. He could feel something grow inside him. Something too powerful for him to comprehend, but he could feel it. In his fingertips, in his cheekbones, in his eyes._

_The bellowing voice returned once again, uttering only one word._

_“Now.”_

Mina was getting angrier now. She readied herself to snap Tom’s arm to the panicked yelling of Eclipsa and Globgor.

“Time’s up.”

The bed burst upward to the shock of everyone in the room, causing Mina to drop Tom like a sack of potatoes. Underneath the bed, she spotted her old companion, Star holding a baby and-

She was blasted to the other end of the room by an energy blast. She crashed into bookcases, pages of karate instructional manuals flying everywhere, some skewered on her horned Viking helmet. She got her bearings to see Marco Diaz… floating. He was hovering an inch off the ground, his eyes glowing white, cheeks glowing with crescent moons and fingers fidgety and glowing with pure magic energy. Mina’s and everyone’s eyes widened in awe and disbelief, but as she opened her mouth to say something else, she was knocked out by another energy blast right to the face. The energy blast also made Marco lose consciousness as he fell to the ground.

Mina’s minions carried Mina out and fled, possibly to regroup, but more probably to escape Globgor’s Herculean strength from turning them into pancakes. After making sure they left, everyone stared at each other in panic and in dread. More importantly, Star stood agape at the display that just happened as the realisation hit her like a tackle-hug from Mariposa – that her boyfriend had magic in him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fresh off the heels of what happened, the group makes a decision about what to do.

Star stared wide-eyed at the two, then toward the direction of the giant hole where Marco’s bedroom door used to be. Then back to them. The four of them had gravitated towards the main throne room after what went down a couple of minutes ago, after moving Marco to his bed, of course. It was then that Eclipsa caught Star up on everything.

“So… this has been going on for a few _weeks_?” Star’s voice trembled in both worry and anger. “A few weeks and nobody – bothered to tell me – that my BOYFRIEND – has magic powers?!” Hot tears threatened to scald her pale cheeks as she slammed a nearby marble pillar in frustration. Tom tentatively put a hand on her shoulder as the royal couple exchanged a guilty look before turning back to Star.

“It… it wasn’t our place to tell you. He didn’t want you to know,” Globgor explained. “He didn’t want you to worry, and he was already so scared of his powers himself. H-he didn’t know what to- “

“Yeah? Now thanks to those powers, Mina _Loveberry_ has _all_ of us on her FUCKING HITLIST!” Star snapped, causing Tom to step back a little. Eclipsa really wanted to tell her off for that language, but she bit her tongue. She was glad she did as Star immediately broke down and cried in Tom’s shoulder. Initially taken aback, Tom felt really bad for Star as he held her. It wasn’t easy for her, given what was going on. She had to make that big decision 2 years ago to purge all the magic to save Mewni and she had to sacrifice the love of her life. Lord knows what she saw in that dimension as it crumbled into nothing and all she had was –

_Marco._

Star pulled away from Tom, stopping his train of thoughts, as she apologised for the sudden hug. Tom gently pulled her back in, and she did not resist. Sniffling, Star looked at the royal couple, expectantly for instructions on what to do next.

Globgor let his eyes tour the desolate throne room. The crater in the front gate, the ruined pillars, the aftermath of Mina’s mace bearing its ugly mark on the marble tiling. They reset back to his wife, who was lost in thought and the two teens. The tense air was still there, as they were unsure what to do next. But they did know the most important thing to do right then – protect Marco. They must be prepared for Mina’s next attack. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Eclipsa spoke up.

“We need to train Marco.”

In a snap, everyone’s eyes widened and stared straight at Eclipsa. Globgor chuckled in disbelief.

“A-are you s-sure about this? H-he’s not-“ Eclipsa put a hand up to silence her husband.

“You saw him, dear. He has… this… raw power. I’m confident if we teach him how to use it well we can get rid of Mina for good.” Eclipsa sounded so sure of herself, Star and Globgor got reminded of all the times she had that fiery commitment. It’s one of the things Globgor still loves about her, he smiled. Eclipsa took Star’s hand in her own and held her face gently with the other. Star’s puffy desperate eyes searched Eclipsa’s for any source of hope, any at all.

“Star, dear, I want you to trust me. It’s not going to be easy, and we get that he’s really important to you,” Eclipsa continued as Star fervently nodded at that last line. “You need to try to be there for him and help him. Everyone here knows magic more than he does, even if he used it that one time to save you.”

Star blushed slightly. He always did risk a lot of things to save her and keep her safe, then and now. He didn’t deserve whatever was happening. How did he get magic when they clearly destroyed magic together? Better question was, why didn’t _she_ get ma-

Tom nudged her shoulder a little to bring her back to Earth, and back to what Eclipsa was asking of her.

“Can you do that for me, please?” Eclipsa pleaded sweetly, but Star could sense a hint of desperation in that voice. And why wouldn’t she be? Marco was their only weapon against a tank of a warrior who almost killed Tom! Star closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

“Sure. Let’s do this.”

Eclipsa smiled, relieved, and let Globgor take her away to their room, leaving Star and Tom alone there.

“Hey Star, sorry for uhh… hugging you back there,” Tom awkwardly started, but she cut him off and shook her head.

“Dude, don’t be. Thanks for being there when I needed it,” Star tensed up and looked in the direction of Marco’s room. “What are we gonna do?”

Sighing, Tom put an arm around Star and followed her gaze. “I honestly have no idea. But whatever it is, we gotta help him through it. I love him too, you know, and it…” He broke off and shoved her aside playfully as he noticed Star’s judgemental cheeky glance. “Not in that way, you idiot! But yeah, h-he’s really important to me too. It would _kill_ me if anything happened to him.”

“Heyyy, what about me?” Star pouted. Tom stared blankly at her, causing Star to get even more annoyed.

“Oh you mother-“ she swung a punch at the back of his head but he ducked at the last second, causing them both to chuckle.

That seemed to lighten the mood, but only by a little. The truth was, they didn’t know what was in store when he woke up, and what came next. But they knew one thing for sure: the three of them had one another, just like old times.

They were going to get through this. They had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Ugh, why does it take so long for me to come up with something? I basically used the same work method the last 2 chapters. Have an idea? Try to build on it on the spot and write as much as you can. This as a little bit of a doozie as I planned this out as the inflexion point of the story, where the direction and tone changes a little, but fear not. The dark tone will be back. I always doodle storylines, plot threads to explore, and what I want the characters to be, so it's been oddly challenging weaving all the little threads into a cohesive narrative! Be sure to follow my Twitter; I always post progress reports there. It's also where you can easily talk to me! Swing by https://twitter.com/dfordeejay and say hi! I like it when people say hi :)
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, stay home, and remember. Everything you love is temporary, but Doom name jeff


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco discovers more of the dark realm as memories plague him.

_Marco doesn’t know how long he’s been there, but by the looks of things, it’s not like he could tell either._

_After what felt like days swimming in amber, suffocating, drowning, slipping in and out of consciousness to nothing, screaming out desperately looking for a voice or even his own echo; the amber cleared. He dropped down onto soft ground. Air returned to his lungs and he took a few minutes to inhale whatever he was inhaling. He was just relieved to _breathe_ again, let alone figure out where he was. He took out his phone for a flashlight, and something felt off to him. The corners were slightly singed and dusty, like a massive jolt of electricity was shot through it. But thank god, the flashlight still worked. Or did it?_

_The faint beam of light only illuminated the ground beneath him, and the space all around him was still dark. He could make out something if he squinted. Was it a rock formation? A pillar? It wasn’t clear. So he took a few tentative steps forward. Lightly tapping the ground with his toes, then slowly walking. His phone light showed that he was stepping on some dark sandy material. As he kept walking, something caught his eye. Something glowing in the distance. A light at the end of the darkness._

_He started running, holding tightly to his hoodie, towards the light. He kept running till his legs could carry him. He felt the ground beneath him transition from sand to water, as the light splashes punctuated his breaths. Thankfully, they were only ankle-deep, but they did slow him down nonetheless. After what felt like an eternity of sprinting, the light started flickering._

_“No,” Marco muttered, pushing himself to run even harder, begging, praying with all his heart that the light doesn’t leave him alone again. The light grew dimmer and dimmer before his widening eyes as it finally fizzled out. With it, any hope that he could get any answers of what was going on? “NO!!!” he screamed as he collapsed to his knees, slamming his fists down into the water. Tears streamed his face and fell into the water with little ‘plinks’; the only other sound there other than his quiet sobbing._

_After what felt like a few minutes of nothing, the water seemed to flow a certain way. It pushed against Marco’s knees the other way, causing him to turn around. As he did, a chill crept up his back and a gust of wind blew him toward the direction he was looking at. Taking a deep breath, Marco took out his phone flashlight again and shined it in the direction the place was directing him to look. A small rock formation stood, about 5 feet tall and a few steps away from him. Taking some cautious steps toward the rock formation, he put a hand on it. As he did, his senses lit up in a cacophony of sounds and feels._

_A waterfall._

_Ground rumbling._

_Dazzling light and hurried footsteps behind him, but with a quick glance there was nothing to be seen. He turned back to look in front and instantly fell back in shock at what he saw and was hearing._

_Two white hearts, staring back at him. There was something in front of those hearts – something flowing, refracting them only slightly. He felt something in him glow and as he raised his hands up to his face did he realise: his hands were glowing with the same snowy hue. His cheeks felt a familiar hotness to them as well. His breathing quickened, his eyes darted left and right. There was nobody there but him and the two white hearts. Shaking, Marco inched his hand closer to the two white hearts, only for them to fade away, replaced by a softly repeating chant._

_“With or without magic… we belong together… with or without magic… we belong together…”_

_Marco’s eyes widened as the memory of that day flooded back again, almost bursting his brain. He fell back to his knees as the water around him started to get more choppy; the levels rising. First to his knees, then his waist, and his neck and-_

_Marco was back in that state of amber, his body felt relaxed but his mind full of questions and confusion. What just happened? He tried to focus on what last happened before he washed up here. He was under the bed. Mina was going to kill Tom. And Star-_

_Star…_

“STAR!” he screamed as he bolted upright. Tom sat up, and Star slid off his shoulder, hitting her head against the bedside table with a thump.

“Ow! What was tha- Oh my god Marco!” she pounced on him and started smothering him with kisses, her tears blinding most of her vision.

“Ah, Star, easy,” Marco giggled weakly, before taking in his surroundings. “Tom? What happened? I almost saw you die!” Tom explained what happened, and what Marco did to save them. .He wasn’t sure if he should drop the whole ‘training’ ball on Marco just yet. He had been unconscious for 3 weeks. Marco looked back down at his hands, then back at his friends. Thank goodness they were both safe. What he couldn’t believe was that he saved them. And with magic? How could he have controlled it then? What if he had accidentally fired at his friends?

Tom noticed his friend’s eyes dart in panic and anxiety and gently patted his shoulder. “Relax buddy, you didn’t zap us.”

“B-but how? I had no idea what I was doing! I didn’t even know what I did!” Marco questioned, calm but still anxious. Star and Tom glanced at each other knowingly before a slight non-verbal affirmation. _We have to prepare him now._

Tom took a deep breath. “Marco, Luna almost killed us, and you saved us. Look, we have no idea how your powers work either. How are they there when you and Star killed all remaining magic? It’s unclear. All we _do_ know is that you **have** powers. There’s no telling when she’ll be back, but she will.”

Marco gripped Star’s hand tightly as she put another over his shoulder. Tom continued.

“W-we gotta prepare you for what comes next. It looks like you can do what Star could do sans wand, so we can start from there. Being half-demon, I still have some magic in me so I can help you there.”

Marco stared at them both in trepidation. “So… t-train me?”

Tom chuckled nervously and responded, “Yeah, pretty much.”

Marco pondered over it as Star interjected, her voice strained. “Ehh Marco? You can let go of my hand now.” He looked down at her hand, which turned pale from him gripping it too tightly. Instantly, he let go, apologising. Star shook her wrist rapidly and simply giggled, inciting laughter among the rest. Something Tom and Marco always seemed to forget about Star was that her laughs were so infectious, and frankly, Marco needed a light chuckle after all that.

When the laughter died down, Marco’s eyes slowly traveled between Star and Tom; both were waiting for an answer but had love, compassion, and patience in their eyes. That gave him the confidence and the bigger dedication to protect them, and the royal couple from Mina’s next attack. Marco closed his eyes and took a slow, methodical, and deep breath. He wasn’t really sure what he saw in that creek in his dreams, but the repeated echoes of the last words he shared with Star before the magic realm crumbled still rang in his mind. Like it or not, there was some remnant magic in him. How? How much? Why? It was all unclear, and he wished that the answers were that easy to figure out. But it would be foolish not to use them to protect the people he loves.

When he opened his eyes, Tom and Star could see a clear strong fire of will lighting up in them – a look that they have seen from the days of battling the forces of evil together.

“Let’s do it.”

Tom and Star beamed, and they both yawned simultaneously.

“Yeah, tomorrow. How’s about we go get some shut-eye? We’ve been watching you all the way and we’re really beat.”

Marco felt a surge of guilt. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Yeah, tomorrow. Sleep well, you two!” Tom and Star left to get their well-deserved rest, leaving Marco alone, ready to take the next day strong.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star reveals some deep feelings in a training session.

“Focus.”

A deep breath.

“Feel the magic flow through you. The power coursing through your veins. It travelling to your fingertips.”

Another deep breath.

“And… now.”

Marco opened his eyes, feet apart, shoulders relaxed, his eyes following his hand pointed at a bale of hay. He concentrated and…

Silence for a few seconds.

Tom groaned from behind him. “Come on, why isn’t anything working?!”

Janna sat up from the picnic blanket Star laid out for them. “Maybe you’re stressing the kid out? Look at that cute face, all scrunched u-“

Star sat up immediately, shooting a sharp glare at Janna, inciting a brief chuckle from Janna. Shielding her eyes from the balmy sun, Star observed the scene before her as she took another sip of Fanta.

“Boys! Maybe come back here for some drinks?” She called out. Tom and Marco jogged over, with the former almost collapsing on the picnic mat.

“_Huff… huff…_ dude, why is nothing… working?! We’ve been doing this shit for 3 days!” Marco opened his mouth to answer, but Star lifted his wrist and scrutinised his palm like she was reading it. Janna fished out a cold beer from the cooler and passed it to Tom, who promptly took a sip. Janna gazed out into nothing, quietly soaking in the company she was with. It was almost like yesterday when Star stumbled into Marco’s world. Was it for the better? Even she couldn’t tell from time to time as the two of them, and eventually she, were dragged into Star’s magical world more and more. A small smile crept on her lips as at the end of it all she found a great group of friends to hang out with.

Star let go of Marco’s wrist. “Yeah, I got nothing.” Marco took a sip of water and stood up in frustration.

“Come on Tom, we gotta try again.”

“Dude, we need a break. You most of all,” Tom retorted indignantly, but Marco was not having any of it. He stormed back over to the middle. Star and Tom glanced at each other and both got up after him.

“Dude? You ok?”

“Of course I’m not!” Marco yelled, pacing back and forth. “Mina’s after all of our heads and if I can’t help us, we’re screwed!” His cheeks heated up as Tom and Star’s eyes widened. Tom opened his mouth to say something but Star gripped his wrist tightly and briefly, then a knowing look.

“Oh yeah?” Star challenged experimentally. “A-and how does that make you feel?”

Marco retorted, “Useless! Helpless! I can’t let her hurt any of you.” Tom noticed that the madder Marco was, the brighter his cheeks glowed. It was then he realised what Star was doing as she stepped closer.

“Yeah, and you’re not helping at all. You of all people have these powers and you don’t know how to even use them!” Star yelled back. Marco, caught off guard, kept going, choking back tears.

“I… I know! But give me a break! It’s not like I used magic as long as you!”

“Yeah! Exactly why you don’t deserve these powers! They should have gone to ME! I laid down EVERYTHING to destroy it all, and _you_ get the remnants?!” Tom nervously glanced at Star as she did not break eye contact, tears also flowing down her face. “Give me a goddamn break!”

Marco’s lip trembled. “I-“

“I wish it was me, Marco. I wish _I_ had those powers.”

“S-star…?” Tom whispered, just as he was blinded by something bright.

“Tom, duck!” Tom heard a fraction of a second before being nearly blasted off his feet with a blast of magic. It flew toward the target and melted it clean off its base. As the smoke cleared and the scene cleared, Tom stared in awe and relief.

He did it.

Marco took a knee, the blast clearly taking a lot out of him. He still had yet to learn to control his energy for the magic blasts, but at least he could almost use it at will. An involuntary laugh emanated from Tom as he kneeled as well.

“Hey, you did it!” He reached out to pat Marco’s shoulder, but stopped short.

“T-tell Star I’m sorry…” he whimpered, willing himself not to cry. Calling Janna to help Marco back to the picnic blanket, Tom replied “I-I don’t think she meant it,” but even he was not sure. She sounded so hurt, so jealous, so mad herself…

Was she really playing it up to push Marco over the edge?

Tom looked around the ground, looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star explains her fears and anxieties to Tom and Marco and the couple share a moment.

Star’s face was buried in her hands as she sat at the edge of her bed, sniffling. Even she was shaken up by what transpired just now. Why did she even break him like that? What would he think?

She looked up slightly as she heard 2 knocks on her door. “Go away,” she muttered. The door gently swung open as Tom let himself in anyway. “If you want me to say I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Star welcomed him coldly as Tom took a seat on the floor facing her. He still didn’t open his mouth to say anything, but just sat there, looking at her warmly, a gentle smile on his lips. Star stared back at her, confused. “Say something,” she said.

Silence.

“Ugh, I’m sorry! It’s just- I can’t believe _he_ got powers but I didn’t.” After a moment of silence, Tom took a deep breath as Star braced for him to flare up in her face. Surprisingly, nothing. He exhaled and looked around her room, then back at her, his eyes seeming to encourage her to go on.

“I… I lost everything when I destroyed the magic. I feared I was gonna lose what made me… special. I feared I would lose him. Y-you don’t know what it was like. I-I didn’t know Earth and Mewni would be smashed together like this!” Star grew more empathic as she lamented. Tom slowly sat up from where he was, his eyes still fixed on her.

“I was jealous, and angry, and I hated that. I was so unsure if he could save us from Mina. Tom, she almost killed you! Now that she knows Marco has powers, she’s not gonna hold back! You have any idea what that does to you? Knowing that you… could lose everyone you love and care about? All because you were _powerless_?”

The pun of the statement was not lost on Tom as he inched forward and put a hand on Star’s. Eyes welling up with tears, she tentatively grabbed it.

“I can’t stand by and watch. I don’t… I don’t want to lose anyone again. I don’t want to _feel_ that again,” she finished as the tears finally came flowing. She covered her face with her hands as she heard Tom sliding away from her a little. The room was deathly quiet, save for Star’s weeping. After a few minutes, she felt something cardboard tap her shoulder. She looked up from her hands to see a box of tissues in front of her. She looked around to thank Tom, but he was a couple feet away.

He wasn’t holding the box, it was floating in mid-air, rather shakily. Her eyes widened as Tom stood up and opened the door. At her doorway stood Marco, his right hand glowing faintly in the dim light of the hallway. His eyes were closed, but there were faint tear stains on his cheeks as well, refracting the crescent moons on his cheeks, alight as faintly as his hand. Star glared at Tom as he winked and left the room, patting Marco on the back as he left.

Marco opened his eyes and relaxed his hand, letting the box drop into Star’s hands. She sat quietly, her mouth agape. “Ho- how did you-“ Marco sat beside her on the bed. After a couple seconds of staring at each other, Star gave in and wept openly on Marco’s shoulder, feeling his warm arm on hers. A mix of confusion, regret, fear and anxiety washed over her as she clung onto her safe kid even more.

After what felt like hours of silent crying, Star squeaked out, “I’m sorry, Marco. I just-“

Marco finally spoke, holding her face and turning it to face her. “You won’t ever lose me. I-I’m sorry I didn’t know what to do, I still don’t!” A light chuckle escaped from his lips.

“But if I had known you would have reacted and felt this way, I would have done anything and everything to help you.”

Marco took both hands to cradle her face as she held onto his hands, sinking her head slightly into his palms.

“I’m sorry you had to go through so much those years ago, but yeah, I was nervous about losing you too. I thought that moment in the Realm was the end for us.” Star remembered as they embraced each other tightly, burying their faces in each others’ necks as the world crashed down around them.

“But we didn’t,” Marco continued. “You’re still here and so am I. So is Tom, so is Janna, so is everyone. We’re OK. Threatened, but OK.” Star’s eyes darted down for a moment as the panic and fear bubbled slowly back up in her, but Marco sensed it too. His eyebrows furrowed for half a second as he kept talking in that same soft tone, his eyes sliding down to her lips.

“Just remember this,” he finished as he leaned in and brought his lips to hers, ridding all the tension she had brewing in her body. Star melted in Marco’s loving grip as she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with sweet and desperate passion. It wasn’t lust, mind you, she could at least feel that. She just felt… safe.

She felt protected.

She felt loved.

She felt hope.

Marco was her hope.

And she was his.

Marco pulled away as something small smacked his head. His eyes landed on a small plastic square package on the floor by his feet… and a giggling Janna standing at the doorway.

“Glad to see you two made up, just be safe!”

That got glares from the couple, but Janna took that in stride.

“Oh. Y’all prefer to do it raw? Damn, Diaz, didn’t expect this from you.”

Marco rolled his eyes as Star screamed, “Janna!”, causing Janna and Marco to burst into laughter. Janna brisk-walked away as Star smacked Marco’s shoulder playfully.

“Oh c’mon, that’s funny!” More glares from Star. “Okay, guess not…”

Star _hmph_-ed in response and pulled him back for another quick peck.

“Thank yo-“

Marco kissed her forehead, cutting her off. “I love you, Butterfly.”

Star blushed slightly. “And I you, Diaz.”

The moment was cut off by Tom knocking twice and entering the room. His eyes landed on the package on the floor, then to a wide-eyed Marco, his face the colour of a tomato. “Uhh…”

“It’s not what it looks like, Janna threw that in!” Marco blurted out, eliciting another eye-roll from Tom.

“You two are made up, and you somehow got your powers in control? How’d that happen?”

Star and Tom both looked to him for an answer but even Marco was dumbfounded.

“I-I don’t know. I heard Star crying and I thought of getting her a box. Then I could see the inside of her room, and a box by her dresser.” Tom and Star exchanged a confused glance as they both recalled the door was closed.

“I tried willing the box to move a-and it did!” Marco continued explaining. “I never had any control over my powers till this point. What the hell happened? W-why did that happen?”

Star looked back at Tom, who seemed to have gotten an idea.

“Buddy, we need to figure out how you got your powers.”


End file.
